Global climate goes regional, and vice versa: Reflecting on 14 years of the PAGES 2k Network

Abstract

For the past 14 years, the PAGES 2k Network has brought together a large, interdisciplinary community to better understand pre-industrial climate and give context to recent human-caused climate change. The past 2000 years of Earth's history provides a critical context for understanding climate variability and change. This is a period where climate changes occurred as a result of well characterized natural climate forcing, as well as unforced internal variability, and has now transitioned into a climate that is strongly forced by human factors. It is also a period where a range of paleoclimate proxy records, often with annual or better resolution, can be used to build up a comprehensive spatial understanding of our climate system. Recent step changes in computing capabilities now allow for ensembles of millennial-length climate-model simulations with which researchers can test and improve our knowledge of the climate system. All of these factors provide a rich scientific backdrop for the work of the PAGES 2k Network.